Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports they have screened a record number of passengers this year and anticipates a larger number of passengers will be coming through the security checkpoints for the Thanksgiving holiday season nationwide, including at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
"We've hit the highest point [of passengers] we've ever had since the pandemic and obviously the pandemic has declined a lot. So everybody is wanting to travel and visit family. The holidays are here and people are going on vacation," says Bart Johnson, TSA's Federal Security Director for Upstate New York.
The TSA says the travel season influx kicked off on Friday, Nov. 17 and ends around Tuesday, Nov. 28. During that 12-day period, TSA predicts to screen about 30 million passengers travelling by plane across the country.
Historically, the three busiest travel days are the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward. TSA is projecting to screen 2.6 million passengers on Tuesday, Nov. 21; 2.7 million passengers on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and 2.9 million passengers on Sunday, Nov. 26, which will likely be the busiest travel day.
"Thanksgiving is always a busy time of the year for TSA," Johnson told WBEN. "It ranks right up there as being one of the highest. Obviously, people need to be prepared and plan ahead and make sure that they get to the airport at least two hours ahead of time. And that's not pulling into the parking lot, two hours ahead of time at the checkpoint ready to go two hours ahead. What that does is it causes a person to be more relaxed, because they know they're going to make their flight. They're not in a hurry. They're not forgetting anybody. Things are a lot calmer, much more relaxed."
In addition, Johnson has a few helpful reminders for all passengers, both inexperienced and those who haven't been to the airport in a while.
"Know what you put in the bag, follow the rules or utilize the MyTSA app. I don't know if the traveling public will have TSA PreCheck, but that's always good to have because you get expedited screening. Be prepared, follow the instructions of the officers. The officers have a very critical job to do and that's to make sure that passengers get to their destination safely, so when they ask you to do something, please comply with their instructions because they're being provided for a very particular reason."
